STAMFORD, Conn. – Oct. 13, 2014 – Following the most-watched NHL opening night doubleheader on record, including the highest-rated regular-season game ever on NBCSN, the network’s NHL coverage continues this week featuring an Original Six Wednesday Night Rivalry matchup between Milan Lucic and the Boston Bruins, and Jimmy Howard and the Detroit Red Wings, this Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. This week’s NHL coverage on NBCSN begins tomorrow with the Carolina Hurricanes hosting the Buffalo Sabres at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by the premiere of Original Six, a new episode in the NHL Rivals series, at 10:30 p.m. ET. Hockey coverage concludes this weekend with two college hockey contests featuring Notre Dame and Lake Superior State this weekend.

NBCSN’s Wednesday Night Rivalry first intermission coverage will feature an in-depth conversation with Milbury and McKenzie regarding the future of fighting in hockey. Last week, Milbury was outspoken about it being the right time to eliminate fighting from the game.

Milbury on future of fighting in hockey: “It’s time to get rid of fighting…as much as I liked a good scrap in my day, there are too many issues here involving concussions…let’s grow up and get rid of it.”

Milbury on minimizing concussions as the driving force to end fighting: “So many problems with concussions. If you can eliminate certain things (that cause concussions), and one of them is a fight that would eliminate a concussion, you have to do it…it’s time.”

This week’s iteration of Wednesday Night Rivalry on NBCSN features an Original Six showdown between the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. The Bruins and Red Wings square off in Detroit for the second time in less than one week. Last Thursday, Jimmy Howard turned aside 16 of 17 shots, while Justin Abdelkader and Gustav Nyquist found the back of the net in a 2-1 Red Wings victory. The two teams also met in the first round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, when the top-seeded Bruins dispatched the Red Wings in five games to advance to the second round.

Wednesday Night Rivalry kicks off with the return of NHL Rivals, NBCSN’s original series that examines the history and personalities that comprise hockey’s greatest rivalries, Tuesday night at 10:30 p.m. ET. This week’s episode highlights the history of the Original Six rivalries that dominated the sport from 1942-1967, when the league featured just six teams, including the Red Wings and Bruins.

Following are excerpts from tomorrow’s episode of NHL Rivals:

Sports Illustrated hockey writer Michael Farber on rivalry between Montreal Canadiens’ Maurice “Rocket” Richard and Detroit Red Wings’ Gordie Howe: “In the way that New Yorkers once debated who was the greater center fielder – Willie Mays or Mickey Mantle – people in hockey said, ‘Who’s the greater number nine? Who’s the greater right wing?’ It was the ‘great nine’ debate.”

Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban on the significance of the Original Six: “The NHL is a league that consists of 30 teams – a big part of that has to do with the players that played in the Original Six…they built this league.”

SABRES AT HURRICANES – TOMORROW AT 7:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

This week’s NHL coverage begins tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, when 2014 second overall draft pick Sam Reinhart and the Buffalo Sabres visit the Carolina Hurricanes. Reinhart made his NHL debut last week in Buffalo’s 3-1 loss to Columbus. The Hurricanes enter tomorrow’s game following back-to-back losses to the New York Islanders to open their season.

NBCSN kicks off its 2014-15 college hockey coverage with a weekend series featuring the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Lake Superior State Lakers, beginning on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET. NBCSN will air live coverage of the second game between the Fighting Irish and Lakers on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.

Dave Strader (play-by-play) and Anson Carter (Inside-the-Glass) will have the call from Compton Family Ice Arena in Notre Dame, Ind.

All games will be live streamed via NBC Sports Live Extra, NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets.

Following is this week’s NHL and college coverage on NBCSN:

Date

Coverage

Network

Time (ET)

Tues., October 14

NHL Live

NBCSN

7 p.m.

Buffalo at Carolina

NBCSN

7:30 p.m.

NHL Rivals – Original Six (Premiere)

NBCSN

10:30 p.m.

Wed., October 15

NHL Live

NBCSN

7 p.m.

Wednesday Night Rivalry – Boston at Detroit

NBCSN

8 p.m.

Fri., October 17

College Hockey – Lake Superior State at Notre Dame

NBCSN

7:30 p.m.

Sat., October 18

College Hockey – Lake Superior State at Notre Dame

NBCSN

6 p.m.

NHL OPENING NIGHT DRAWS RECORD VIEWERSHIP FOR NBCSN

Last week, NBCSN began the 2014-15 season with two matchups – Flyers-Bruins on Wednesday Night Rivalry, followed by the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings. Wednesday Night Rivalry’s Flyers-Bruins matchup (7:27-10:06 p.m. ET) delivered 956,000 viewers and a 0.57 household rating, making it the most-watched opening night game on cable on record (data available since 1993) and the highest-rated NHL regular-season game ever on NBCSN.

The second game of the doubleheader, featuring the San Jose Sharks against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings (10:06 p.m. ET – 1:14 a.m. ET), averaged 446,000 viewers, the most ever on NBCSN for an NHL regular-season “late” game (puck drop after 9 p.m. ET), excluding last season’s Ducks-Kings outdoor game at Dodger Stadium.

NBC Sports Regional Networks are also posting impressive early season numbers, highlighted by the Blackhawks’ best start ever on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, averaging a 4.9 HH rating through two games. Overall, this season’s NHL games are averaging a 2.7 across the NBC Sports Group’s lineup of CSN regionals, up 15% vs. last year’s regular-season average rating (2.3).

Last Thursday’s matchup between the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild on NBCSN delivered a 6.75 rating in Minneapolis, which was the best NHL regular-season rating ever in the market on NBCSN.

2014-15 REGULAR SEASON COVERAGE ON NBC & NBCSN

NBC Sports Group will deliver coverage of 103 NHL regular-season games during the 2014-15 season, featuring 14 games on NBC and 89 games on NBCSN. All games will be streamed live via NBC Sports Live Extra. Click here for more information on NBC Sports Group’s comprehensive NHL coverage this season.

NBC SPORTS REGIONAL NETWORKS

NBC Sports Regional Networks, which serve top NHL markets such as Boston (Bruins), Philadelphia (Flyers), Washington D.C. (Capitals), Chicago (Blackhawks) and the Bay Area (Sharks), will air more than 300 live NHL games and surround the 2013-14 NHL season with in-depth news, analysis and original programming on the teams that matter most.